Apple working with record labels to resurrect the album

The rise in digital music has seen a corresponding drop in album sales. Now, …

Industry insiders say that the big four record labels are working with Apple to boost full album sales, as individual songs have come to dominate digital downloads. A project called "Cocktail" is reportedly underway and set to launch this fall, which will bundle interactive "booklets" including artwork, liner notes, and other content with a full album purchase. Another interesting twist is that the new content may be launched alongside a long-rumored Apple tablet.

Apple has worked with labels and bands in the past to promote digital music. Many albums are now available with digital booklets, a PDF file that includes cover art and liner notes. A few artists have released a "digital box set," most notably U2, which released a package that contained every song that band ever recorded—it could also be purchased alongside a special edition U2 iPod. Most recently, Apple unveiled what's called an iTunes Pass with the release of Depeche Mode's latest album Sounds of the Universe. iTunes Pass gives purchasers access to exclusive remixes, b-sides, videos, and other content leading up to the release of a new album.

The "Cocktail" project would see a further evolution of such ideas. "It's all about recreating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music," one executive familiar with the plans told Financial Times. The problem is that most of today's digital music audience has little or no recollection of the album's heyday.

"It's not just a bunch of PDFs," said one executive. "There's real engagement with the ancillary stuff." One reported feature is that songs can be played directly from these interactive booklets without going into iTunes to play the tracks—though it's not clear if iTunes must be running for the magic to work.

The new concept is intended to entice consumers into buying full albums instead of just cherry picking individual songs. While digital downloads have increased as CD sales have declined, purchases of full albums have also gone down. We'd argue a better solution would be to produce albums full of worthwhile material, as albums packed with two hits and a bunch of filler were one of the factors that led to their downfall in the first place. But playing to the strengths of a digital download world is definitely worth exploring.

A tablet to enjoy the resurgent albums on?

Financial Times sources also indicate that albums with this new format could be launched at the same time as a long-rumored Apple tablet device, which would be capable of viewing the interactive material. The entertainment industry believes the device, which is described as a "full-featured, tablet-sized computer," could be a potential revolution. "It's going to be fabulous for watching movies," one unnamed entertainment executive told Financial Times. Book publishers are also reportedly in talks to offer e-books on the device as well.

Several recent rumors have suggested the device has been in gestation at Apple for at least a few years, but that Steve Jobs has finally put his seal of approval on its current form. Some have suggested a fall release, as FT does, though others have pegged release for early 2010. Either way, it seems as though everyone agrees that Apple has a tablet-like device nearly ready to go, and we should be seeing it sometime soon. Whether Apple can truly succeed with a tablet where others have failed remains to be seen, but its history of moving nascent technologies into the mainstream—the GUI, networking, USB, and touch control, not to mention products like iPod, iTunes, and iPhone—leaves room for optimism.

On the whole, though, we remain doubtful that either a tablet device or interactive booklets will be a magic bullet that the industry seems to be hoping for for lagging album sales.